In marketing, it’s a phrase we should all be aware of. But when should your planning process come to an end and act of “doing” actually begin?

How about from day one?

I’m a great believer in “doing” as part of the planning process.

After all, a detailed plan based on supposition is as likely to fail (or succeed) as a hastily sketched idea with a ton of resources thrown at it.

In fact, the more detailed a plan, the more likely you will rigidly stick to it, regardless of results, and in the long term this can prove to be incredibly damaging. I’ve seen countless marketers invest heavily in a detailed plan only to see it fail and then instead of reworking (or even scrapping) the original plan, invest more money into it, maximizing the impact of its failure.

Because of this, I like to keep my planning process short and to the point. In fact, I try to keep any planning documents short enough to fit on one side of A4 (US letter-size) paper. Any longer, and I believe the job of planning actually takes over from the job in hand.

The secret is to start small, test, analyze and move on, taking a bigger step each and every time. This reduces risk, speeds your entry into the market, reduces your reliance on guessing what your target audience is actually looking for and helps you hone your message and product based on real insight.

Has planning ever got in the way of your marketing strategies? How do you find the balance between planning and doing? Share your comments below.

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